What have you learned from the forum?

[NordlingHouse]

@RiverRock

I was scolded by Helsi for responding to old threads

I really wish the admins would lock any thread older than 6 months.

[NordlingHouse]

@doughpat

That sounds like a lot of work. Can I ask why? I’ve had minor hiccups with the Airbnb site/app, but never anything that made me think “I need to manually duplicate all of this information”. If nothing else, I always have the email showing the original booking (and any modifications).

I put them in a spreadsheet so that it takes me at about 10 minutes to file my quarterly sales tax and bed tax returns.

You may not have been around when one of Air’s horrible software updates hosed a whole bunch of bookings, sending cancellation messages to guests and hosts, or when there was a huge simultaneous denial of service attack on some major cloud services, and no one could log in for a day. THAT’S when I want to have the guest’s phone number — I usually put it in my phone a week ahead, too. I try to avoid using the buggy and limited phone app, and much prefer the web version.

I was in the IT business for 25 years, and although the reliability of electronics and computers have improved immensely, I still don’t trust them.

[NordlingHouse]

@Charmed59

What an interesting idea, I’ve never considered that. Do you leave them to roam and tell the guests the schedule? We have a lot of longer term guests that might appreciate help in vacuuming.

No, I use it when I do room turns, and I do the hallway when no one is there.

I go in the room, check drawers for left stuff, vacuum walls/trim/pix frames/furniture, strip and make the bed, flip the duvet corners up to keep the space clear, put the chair on the bed, move the charging dock from its kitchen home to the room, drop the vac on it, start the vac with my phone app, and shut the door. When it’s done, it returns to the charger and messages me via the app. I go in the room with my lint roller and search for hairs, flip down the duvet corners, spray some citrus, and pick up the robot and charger for the next room.

I can usually do all 3 rooms before I have to empty the vacuum. If I have a guest that sheds hair, I might have to clean the brushes more often. One reason why the robovac can easily handle it is that I don’t allow street shoes upstairs. There is a handy bench and shoe rack in the front porch.

[KKC]

@NordlingHouse

really wish the admins

I’ve said before but will say again for any new members: we do this when we see them.

I have no intention of spending time locking dormant threads on the off chance that someone will necro it.

[lawre]

@doughpat

write a fairly simple program

I’m with those who just record the phone numbers manually. I need them both for communication if everything is to crash and to set the guest’s door code.
Apps are great, but when they are tied to Airbnb the poor developer is dealing with having to constantly update and create workarounds. AirReview is an example. It’s a good tool, but every time Airbnb changes something, it stops working and the developer, who has other things to do, has to spend hours on it.

[RiverRock]

@KKC

we do this when we see them.

Sometimes I see them, but the post seems relevant so I leave them. So for me it depends

RR

[Debthecat]

Something I should have learned. DONT RENT TO LOCALS!
Had a booking from b.com, from a local girl, it was booked for that night, checking in now.
First flag was her credit card failed.
Did you know that through b.com you can put in ANY 16 digits and b.c accepts it as valid?
When she arrived I asked about the card and she was prepared with cash.
She tells me she lived at home with her parents and they did not approve of her boyfriend and this was to be a special weekend for them. Now 10-30 at night and I have the cash in my pocket.
I give her the keys and the tour to her and never see him.
The night before they are supposed to check out I get a query if there are any more nights available. Yep and the payment is collected from the letterbox.
They check out when they are supposed to, unit is ok apart from every towel in the the place is used, 12 over a 3 night stay.
I get complaints from the neighbour on the other side regarding the numbers of visitors.
She requests to stay again directly with me. I have a conversation about guest visitors and complaints which she really doesn’t understand as she felt that they paid and it her “right” to have over friends and family. I direct her to the house rules. She pays and all good.
Last day of her stay I get a message from the neighbour that the police attended, the boyfriend was seen breaking in through a window because she had the keys!
I have a conversation with the police who tell me that I really don’t want this pair at my properties due to all sorts of illegal activities. So locks now changed and no more locals!

[muddy]

Oh dear. So do you think the story about her parents not approving of her boyfriend was BS? Because if it wasn’t, she’s not very bright- if you are trying to keep something secret, you don’t invite a bunch of people over.

[Debthecat]

Well - she is about 18 and he has an 8 year old daughter…as a parent myself…I would have issues, particularly if there are illegal activities happening. I also gave the police the 1 litre container of acetone…

[JohnnyAir]

@RiverRock

I sure love my kettle, heats the water right up!

??? Didn’t get this one.

This post should be pinned.

[JJD]

@Debthecat

she is about 18 and he has an 8 year old daughter

What???

Is this a too-many-hormones-in-the-milk issue?

[Debthecat]

Previous relationship for him

[Skai]

I would hope…

[Kat_Hansen]

I’ve especially benefited from the threads on great cleaning products and techniques.

Also learned a bit about British culture, British hosting, and British idioms!

[OnceUponaRiver]

Which channel manager program do you use?

[RiverRock]

OwnerRes
Works well for me

RR

[RiverRock]

I have learned not to sweat the small stuff. I just had a group leave after renting both cabins for 6 nights. I am missing a fiestaware coffee mug. I bought eight 4 years ago, put out six and put two away for spares. Not bad for 4 years. If I were to replace the one mug it would be about $12 with shipping. I will watch for a sale/free shipping. They are expensive (ish), but I like them.

RR

[muddy]

I love the Fiestaware but beyond my budget. My daughter has a set gifted by her grandma.

Did you know it was originally sold at Woolworth’s ? A friend from California told me people he knew realized at one point that it was still available in Mexico (not anymore) at their Woolworth’s stores for cheap and were buying it up.

I look for solid color dishware in orange, red, yellow and turquoise, but cheap stuff, and call it the Poor Girl’s Fiestaware.

[RiverRock]

@muddy

originally sold at Woolworth’s

Pretty sure I got mine from Kohls, and some from Ebay

Ugh I just looked at kohls and the mugs I bought in 2017 they do not have anymore, and the ones they do have are $19 plus shipping I do not mind mixing them up if I have to.

Ill see what I can find on Ebay

So even if the mug is $25 with shipping it is still no big deal to lose one in 4 years.

RR

[muddy]

@RiverRock

Pretty sure I got mine from Kohls, and some from Ebay

When I said originally sold at Woolworth’s, I meant long before such things as eBay or Kohl’s. Fiestaware first came out in the mid 1930’s.